Keyblade Forge
by Imagination Knight
Summary: This is just something that I dreamed up. It explains a lot about the keyblade. It follows the story of an apprentice who works at the forge where the keyblades are made. It follows his rise to mastery and events leading to birth by sleep. Hope you enjoy.
1. The Apprentice

This is something I dreamed up of a like the night before. I've always been curious on where the keyblades came from. This is what the mess I call a mind created. It's set fairly far back in the past. This is set a bit before when Masters Eraqus, Yin Sid, and Xehanort were going for there marks of mastery. It actually stars the keyblade's smith's apprentice, his mishaps and his rise to become master smith. Well that's enough of that. Please enjoy.

Keyblade Forge

The Apprentice

The fires burned fiercely in forge. It roared in anger when the smith opened it. He pulled out red hot bars with great tongs, and slammed it down on his worn anvil. The constant and thundering sound of his hammer filled the great room. Sparks sprayed on his leather apron. A steady stream of sweat rolled off his body. His arms and face covered in scars from his centuries of work. He pounded the metal till it was flat, with one end wider, to become the iconic 'key' of the weapons he made.

At that time a moogle fluttered into the room. Its diminutive stature was emphasized even more compared to the giant smith. "Kupo, we believe that we've found an apprentice for you, kupo."

Not taking his eyes off his work he said, "I shall see if he is worthy of being my apprentice. If not he's can join the other seven in the mines. I shall see him when I'm done here. Show him to dining room."

"Kupo, at once, kupo."

Kaji, the prospective smith, sat on a short wooden bench at an enormous table. He could barely see over the top of it. He had been here for close to an hour now. The strange bat winged pig thing that brought him here floated lazily from one end of the room to the other.

"Um, whatever you are, what am I doing here?"

"Kupo, you are here to see if you are to be chosen to be the apprentice to the smith, kupo."

"But I'm already an apprentice, to my father. What does he think happened to me? Can't I tell him I'm alright?"

"Kupo, he knows you are safe, kupo."

"Why me anyway? I'm sure there are others that are more talented than me."

"Kupo, there are, and he's tested some of them, but it's not skills that determine your acceptance but your heart, kupo."

"And if my hearts not right," he began hesitantly, "what will happen to me?"

"Kupo, you'll be forced to work in the mines for all eternity or until you die, kupo."

"What are you talking about 'or'?" he cried, becoming frantic. "I'll die before eternity ends, for eternity doesn't end."

At this time the large decorated iron doors scrapped open. Kaji covered his ears. A man more than twice his height squeezed through the doorway. He was covered in dirty sweat trails. He was wiping his face and shiny head with a worn rag. He collapsed into a chair a high backed arm chair, with a sigh of relief.

"Where's my new miner?" he asked.

Kaji recomposed himself, stood on top of the stool, and in a small voice answered, "I'm right here."

"Why are you all so small?" he complained. "Well I guess you are a bit taller than the others. But not by much."

"Sir this is a mistake I need to be back at home my father he is old and won't be able to work for much longer. I need to go back and take care of my family."

"If you are my apprentice you're family will have no worries of money," assured the giant. "They will be set for life."

The moogle flew up to the smith's ear and whispered, "Kupo, he shows both concern and dedication to his family. These are signs of a good heart, kupo."

"Yes, I know," he agreed, "but it could be guilt for a past action. Now if you don't mind I'm going to decide for myself, you annoying little gnat," Shooing him away with a lazy wave of his hand.

The moogle bowed his head, and flew sourly out of the room.

The smith slumped even further down in his arm chair. He stared quietly at the boy. Kaji stared back. The smith tilted his head from one side to the other. He repositioned himself in his chair. He continued to study the boy for ten minutes. Finally he rose form his seat.

"Boy, what is your name?"

"Kaji," he replied, "sir."

"Do you call me 'sir' out of fear or respect?" he asked taking a step closer.

"Respect," he replied, his voice cracking. "Respect and fear actually, sir."

The smith nodded blankly at his answer. He stripped off his gloves and tossed them on the table. They were big enough Kaji could fit his head in one of them easily. The giant popped his knuckles, though it sounded more like branches being snapped. His left hand looked as if it was made out of black stone and his right out of white.

"Come here boy," he ordered.

He did as he was told. He looked up at the face of the smith. Form this angle he looked like an ancient stone sculpture, worn and hard.

The smith picked him up with one of his great hands, and set him on the edge of the table. The giant ran a blackened finger through his hair, forced him to open his mouth, poked his chest till he fell, and studied his arms. Then he got face to face with him and stared at his eyes. After several minutes he stood back up and went back to his chair. He propped his legs up on the table.

"Well," Kaji coaxed.

"Well what?"

"Am I your apprentice?"

"No, hope you have fun in the mines," he replied absently.

He shocked by his answer. "What, why not? I was told you pick your apprentice on their heart. What's wrong with my heart?"

"First off you're envious. Your eyes they are green. Green is the color of envy. You might not know it now, but envy lives in your heart," he explained.

"Are you serious?" he asked raising his voice, "Just because my eyes are green doesn't mean that I'm envious. There are people who have blue, brown, and even blind eyes that have envy."

"Others might be jealous, but your eyes doom you to it. Even if I was to over look that there are other reasons. Your hair, black, it shows that your heart welcomes darkness."

"My hair? You believe that because of my appearance that you can judge my character. True, there are times when all of us let darkness into our hearts, but that's just part of being human, but we can choose to face our faults and try to improve. If you're searching for someone without any faults you'll never find your apprentice."

"You feel strongly about this don't you?"

"Yes I do."

"Then you passed your first test."

"What?"

"None of what I said is true, but you understand your limits. And it is important not to think your better than them. You'd be surprised by how many people don't understand that. You also show strength by not letting these things define you. So you don't go to the mines, at least not yet."

Kaji laid back and laughed.

"June, will show you where you can sleep tonight. June," he called.

Kaji perched himself up on an elbow. A young woman entered the room, wearing a strapless green dress that came down to her knees with a rose pink belt. Her blonde hair was done in a messy bun.

"You called?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, can you show the boy to a room? He'll be staying the night."

"Of course," she said with a bow. "Will you follow me?"

"Yeah." He slid off the table and crossed the floor to her. "Hi. I'm Kaji."

"Nice to meet you, I'm June."

"Enough with the introductions. Take him up to a room."

The two left. They ascended a stone spiral staircase lit by torches.

"So you work for the smith. Are you like a maid, or what?"

"Actually I'm his daughter."

Kaji stopped. "Wait. Why aren't you as tall as he is?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure. Though he doesn't age like us. He's been around for centuries. It might affect his growth as well."

"Centuries? How old are you?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "I'm only seventeen. Come on, we've still got a few floors to go."

Kaji stood there for a few more seconds before following her.

"What exactly does your dad make?"

"Keyblades."

"What?"

"Don't worry you'll learn about them soon." She opened a door that led to a brightly lit hall. The hall was made of a yellow stone, which added to the intensity. A black and white rug ran the length of the hall. Metal chandeliers floated above them. Elaborate tapestries hung from the walls that depict the tales of past keybearer. "Your room the third door on the right, and if you need anything my room is right across from yours." Oh, don't try to peep in on me that's what got the last one sent to mine."

The two went to their separate ways. In his room with the door closed, he thought of what might happen to him now. This morning he was helping his father repair an over the hill samurai's armor. Now he's in a new world, with the potential to for his family to have a better life. He had to make sure he did all that was possible for the keyblade smith to choose him.

Okay that's it for now. It might be bit of a slow start, but things will pick up quickly. There's going to be visits from your some Kingdom Hearts characters, you'll learn about the origin of the keyblade, see the fall of Xehnort, and new and old enemies. Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Day One

Sorry for the wait I lost the flash drive I saved this on. Hope you can forgive me. Things are about to get interesting now, starting with a surprise visit. (Don't tell anyone though 'cause it's a secret. Shhhhh.) The actual tests to see if Kaji is truly the apprentice are about to begin. So sit back, relax, and please sign the safety waivers. Wait you didn't get one.

Day One

"Kupo, time to get up, kupo," it squeaked in Kaji's ear

Kaji fell out of his bed. He rubbed his bumped head as he glared at the weird flying pig. It was floating at the foot of his bed. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at it. "Get out of here."

The moogle dashed out of the room.

Kaji rubbed his eyes. He reached for his crumpled pile of clothes. He finished slipping into his pants when he noticed on the corner of his bed fresh nicely folded new clothes. Black jeans, white T-shirt, a leather apron, and gloves. A note was pinned to the apron.

_Good morning Kaji. Hope you slept well. Sorry these aren't the fanciest clothes, but they were what I could find. Breakfast is down stairs in the dining room. Hope you remember how to get there. Today starts the real tests. Almost anything could be a test, so think before you do anything. I do hope you are his apprentice. You seem nice. Well don't just stand there get down here so you can eat._

_June_

He quickly changed into the shirt and pants. He stuffed the gloves into his back pocket and slung the apron over his shoulder. He took the stairs two at a time. At the bottom of the stairs he took a deep breath. Personally he didn't want to see his possible new master first thing, his size alone was intimidating, and he is already has unneeded stress from the consequences if he wasn't the apprentice, but also he wanted to get something inside of him before he was tested.

He pushed the door slightly ajar. A fire burned brightly in the garage sized fireplace. June sat at a small table on top of the mammoth of a table. There was no sign of her father. He opened the door only wide enough for him to squeeze himself through, and tiptoed across the floor.

"Good morning Kaji." June greeted brightly.

He threw his hands up to shush her. "I don't want your dad to know I'm here right now," he whispered.

"Don't worry he's busy with some people right now," she assured him. "Come on up, you're going to need all of your strength."

She pointed to the chair across from her. He looked around the room one last time waiting for the smith to jump out and tell him he failed. His stomach gave off a soft growl and it decided that it was safe. He clambered up the table. A covered plate waited for him on the table. He uncovered it expecting bacon and eggs. He found, however, a clean white plate staring at him.

He placed the lid back on. "Please tell me this isn't a test?"

"No," she said with a slight giggle. "Just put the lid back on and say what you want to eat."

"Alright." He put the lid back on, "Bacon and eggs." He grabbed the lid and it felt warm. Five thick slices of bacon were still sizzling on his plate. Eggs in every different form filled the rest of his plate.

"Sorry about that. You need to be more specific when it comes to eggs"

"It's alright. Do want some?"

The large door, that Kaji guessed led to the forge, swung open. Three normal sized people came out in a line. They all had strange weapons in hand. The first was a tall fellow wearing a long gray robe. He had long brown hair braided in a pony tail. He played with his stubbly beard as he talked excitingly to his comrades. The second beamed at the first as he went on about something that seemed impressive. He wore a simple white gi with a black undershirt. He had black hair that he slicked back. The last one seemed to be off in his own little world. He wore a long black coat and red shirt and black pants. He had white hair that ran down his back, and yellow eyes.

Those eyes scared Kaji.

"Hello, Yen Sid," called June.

With a pop he vanished from where he was and reappeared beside her in a puff of smoke. "Good morning, dear June."

Kaji threw a fork full of eggs into the air.

After Yen Sid cleaned the mess, with a snap of his fingers, he turned to Kaji and apologized, "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"This is Yen Sid," she introduced. "He's pretty good with magic and likes to show it off whenever he can." She punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"It's true I'm the best with magic out of all the keybearers," he exaggerated. "Enough about me, you must be the new miner…, I mean apprentice. Where are you from?"

"Um… Land of the Dragons."

"Land of the Dragons can't say I've visited there on any of my numerous adventures."

Seeing how uncomfortable he was making Kaji, June asked, "So, what was your business with my father?"

"Well I can't say. You know how it is, big top secret keybearer stuff."

"Sid, get down here," called the black haired man. "Master Baryon is expecting us. We still have 'top secret keybearer stuff' to do."

"He's right I need to be off. So until next time," he took June's hand and kissed it.

With another pop he was back by his friends. They left. Yen Sid was still talking loudly. Kaji watched the strangers leave. As the door closed behind them Kaji thought he saw them turn into armored knights.

"They're who you will make the keyblades for," June told him, snapping him back.

"Were those the weapons they had?"

"Yep."

"A couple of them look swords with prongs, and Yen Sid's was just stars and moons."

"I know they might not look like much, but those were some of the most powerful weapons that will ever be made. And you're going to be making them one day."

The doors to the forge slammed open. The smith stormed into the room. "Okay boy you time for your next test."

"I'm not finished with breakfast," he objected.

"Is that my problem? Now get your lazy bum over here."

Kaji pushed his plate away, regretfully, and hopped off the table.

"Now, keep up for I don't want to stop and wait for you." With that he turned and started down the large stone hallway that was behind the doors.

Kaji hurried to catch up, the large iron doors already starting to close. He made it through just as the doors shut. His master was already halfway down the hall. The deeper he chased the smith the hotter it became. When he finally caught up his shirt was drenched and large beads of sweat rolled off his body. He jogged to keep up with the smith's huge steps. Deeper and deeper they traveled. Kaji's sweat eventually started to turn to steam as it ran down.

"Are we almost there?" he asked.

"Quit your whining we're half way there."

"You're kidding me. Give me a second."

"I'm not waiting for you."

"I'll catch up. I need a breather or I'm going to die."

"Don't waste too much time."

Kaji propped himself upright against a wall. His lungs hurt, and he felt woozy. Eventually he allowed himself sit. The air was thick and acidic. It felt like the rocks were emitting heat themselves

He took inventory of everything that didn't hurt. It was a short list. If this was going to happen every day he was going to die before the smith made up his mind.

"Pssst. Hey kid," someone whispered. "Kid you okay?"

Kaji looked around for whoever it might be.

"Down here."

Kaji looked down. Next to his hand was a grate. A short red faced man with glasses peered from behind it.

"Are you the new kid?"

"Yeah."

He reached his short chubby through the bar. "Names Cod. How you doing?"

"Tired. My name is Kaji by the way."

"Kaji if I was you I would get going. The smith isn't a patient man."

"You're right I rested long enough," he panted. He forced himself to stand.

"I hope you're his apprentice. Believe me you don't want to be down here. Wait, there's going to be a fork further down. If he goes to down the right run," he warned, "that leads to the mines. Go to the top floor and you should find a ship that the moogles use to come and go."

He was going to ask what a moogle was, when, "Cod, where are you?" someone yelled deep in the mine.

"I'm coming. Remember right run. Good luck to you."

Kaji waited till he couldn't see Cod anymore and ran down passageway. His body still ached but he continued to push himself. When he felt like he was on the edge of collapsing he ran into the smith.

"Glad you could finally join me," the smith groaned. "What took ya?"

"Just had to catch my breath." He tried not to breathe hard. "How much further?"

"We're about to the fork so we're almost there."

Kaji froze. He was too tired to run all the way back to house.

"Wait what if this is part of the test," he thought. "He could have set that guy there to try and trick me. If I run he might see it as if I allow fear to control my life. Okay no matter what I'm just going to follow him."

His mind fought itself. Was this really part of the test, or was he just looking at it too deep. With each step his stomach twisted into a tighter knot. He changed his mind so many times till he wasn't sure what he was going to do.

"We are here." The smith boomed, as if he was announcing to a crowd.

"What?"

Removing a large iron key ring from his belt re repeated in the same grandeur, "We are here. The Keyblade Forge." The lock clicked and the metal doors swung open. The front was adorned with a large crest that Kaji couldn't make out due to his angle and the halves moving away from each other.

Heat and light poured out of the door and hit Kaji like a wave. He shielded his eyes. Slowly he was able to squint into the forge.

"Well, what do you think?" the smith asked.

"Um… it's nice, but…"

"But what?"

Kaji looked around the room again. It was large, filthy, and simple. He knew that forges weren't fancy, but he expected something more magical. From how June made them sound he expected these keyblades to be made somewhere else than a normal forge. It had an anvil, furnace, bellows, and everything else any forge would have, nothing extra.

"I just expected more," he admitted.

"Like what?" he barked. "Cages full of fairies?"

"No just something extra to make those special weapons."

The smith grunted and sighed "You're off to a bad start today, boy."

He jutted his thumb toward the forge. Kaji took the hint and went on in. The smith locked the door from the inside.

"Okay boy I'm almost done with a keyblade I'm working on. You go over there and sit, and don't touch anything." He told him pointing at a stool in the far corner.

The stool was half a football field away. His legs were already burning, but when he sat down the pain really sank in. He fought not to cry. He sat there for hours. The smith was busy at work his large bulky hands trying to do the small intricate work on the keyblades. Kaji leaned back on his hands and stared up at the ceiling. Even though he thought they were miles under the surface of wherever they were he could see the sky. It looked as though it was night or early morning for he could see the stars. There were thousands upon thousands up there.

"Finished," the smith announced.

He took the finished weapon and held it like a pencil. He swung it around, getting a feel for his new masterpiece. Once satisfied he hung it up in what Kaji thought was the sky.

"Wait, all those are keyblades?"

"Yes," he replied.

"And you made all of them?"

"No. Some are my master's, his master, and so on and so forth all the way back to the first keyblade smith. But, I have made the most," he said. His eyes then started to well up. With a rough rub of his hand he straightened himself out. "Right, now let's begin. Come here boy."

Kaji started toward him. "You do remember my name? It's not 'boy,' no matter how many times you call me that."

"Kaji, get over here."

Kaji picked up the pace. Once he was right beside the smith he asked, "What's your name? I just realized you've never told me."

"My name is mine to give out. I don't wish for you to have it, yet. My name is one of the few things I still have from my old life. I don't wish to taint it with my new one."

Kaji shook his head confused by his master's answer.

He jumped as the smith put his hands around him. The smith picked him up and set him on top of the anvil. The smith looked him over before going over to the furnace. He pulled out a red hot pot. He studied the contents for a second then walked back to the anvil.

"You'll want to take a deep breath," the smith warned. He turned the pot over and covered Kaji in liquid metal.

Kaji threw his arms over his face to try and protect himself. He was crushed by the weight. He struggled under the weight. The liquid metal began to harden. It clung to his skin. He reached for his face to clear his mouth and nose, but it completely solidified before he could. He was a statue. He couldn't breathe. Right when he felt like he was going to die from suffocation the metal started to clear. When he was able to move his arms he stripped the metal from himself. It was impossible for him not to be burned, but he wasn't.

"What the hell was that about?"

There was no answer.

He was no longer in the forge. He didn't know where he was. All around him was darkness. He twisted and turned looking for light. The darkness was so absolute that it frightened him. Started to move and the floor exploded into doves. Light flooded him now. He shielded his eyes. Once adapted to the light he watched the doves fly off into the darkness.

He was on a round platform. The ground he stood was green stained glass with light emanating from it. In the center was a sliver crown.

A voice said to him softly, _"Welcome. Why are you here?"_ It sounded like the voice was coming from everywhere. _"You are not sure. It is fine. Soon you'll figure out why."_

"Where is 'here?'" he asked trying to find the speaker.

"_Everything will be revealed in due time. First,_ _I need you to come forward into the light."_

A soft beam of light illuminated the center of the floor. Hesitantly he approached the light. When he stepped into the light he felt like a weight was lifted off of him.

"_You are going to be needed in the future. You will need to defend that which is most precious."_ The ground rumbled and three pedestals rose around the floor. Light burst over each of them and on top of them was a different weapon: a bow, a hammer, and a shield. _"Choose how you wish to protect what is precious."_

The bow drew his attention. He used it countless times back home to hunt rabbits. He took it off its podium and took notice that there was no quiver or arrows. It didn't stifle his curiosity for the weapon. It was beautiful. It was long and thin with gold thin engravings. The blue material it was made of was light but strong. He tested the string and as he pulled it back an arrow appeared. He slowly released the tension and the arrow faded. When his fascination with the bow faded he set it back. He was curious about the other weapons. He next went for the shield. It was foreign to him but it looked like he could hold off anyone who tried to attack him. He slipped his arm through the straps. He swung it around and bashed it against its stand. The weapon felt bulky and bothersome. He laid it back on the stand, and headed for the hammer. It was something he used on a daily basis. This one was different it had a long two handed handle like a sledge hammer, but, why one end looked like it was meant to smash the other, it had a long spike. He took the weapon and felt its weight. He could feel the power in it. This one felt right.

"I choose this one," he called into the darkness.

The podiums sank into the ground and a stair case formed on the opposite side of the floor leading up and deeper into the nothingness.

He understood, and ran up them. The stairs led to the top of a pillar that rose out of the darkness. He slowed as he approached the next platform. This landing was made of blue glass and in the center was a depiction of a heart shaped moon. He moved to the center and waited for the voice.

"_You have chosen how you will defend what is precious, but now you must decide what is treasured."_

Three figures slowly materialized around the stage. An old man with a long grey beard and a rusted crown rested on his bald head. A small girl playing with a doll, sitting cross legged on the floor, her hair in pigtails, and she wore a silver dress. A black and white mask, as it turned the face would change. They all stared at Kaji their eyes blank and emotionless.

Kaji approached the little girl first. She beamed at him, but her soulless eyes took away from any comfort the smile might have offered.

In one breath she said, "Hello, I've got a question for you. What are you most afraid of? Personally I'm not afraid of anything, but there is something you're afraid of. I can tell. So, what is it?"

"Um… I'm most afraid of…," he started. Right now he wanted to say her. Her grey orbs unblinkingly stared into his heart. "Not being able to protect the ones who I care about. I'm afraid of that."

"That's silly," she giggled messing with her doll's hair, "but if that's it, okay."

She turned her doll around to face Kaji. She started to fade away and Kaji noticed that the doll looked like him, with a large red heart shaped patch sewn it's chest. The doll fell to ground as she disappeared. He picked it up and studied it closer: large button eyes, stitched mouth, and yarn hair. He stuffed the doll into his pocket.

He turned around to face the others. The mask and old man stared at him. The mask currently twisted with anger. The old man was gesturing Kaji to him. Kaji decided to take on the old man.

The elder gave him a toothless smile, and reached a bony hand toward him. When Kaji was within reach of the old man, he was pulled to his knees.

"So, tell me what is most important to you?" he asked licking his bare gums.

Kaji tried to stand, but the man just pushed him back down and dug his fingers into his shoulder. "Owww. I guess…"

"No guessing," he warned squeezing even harder.

"Family and friends," he shouted in pain.

The old man slowly eased his grasp. Kaji was able to stand now. The old man nodded at him. He pulled his hidden arm out from under his beard. Each finger was covered in large rings of different size and set with marvelous gems that clinked together. As he removed the rings from his ring finger and let them fall. They turned into dust before they reached the ground. As he took off the rings the years seemed to fall off him too. When he reached a black and white ring he looked to be in his mid-20. He handed the ring to Kaji. Kaji accepted the present. The man then took off his golden crown, bowed to him, and disappeared.

The mask still stared at him. Its face in-between sadness and joy.

Kaji took a deep breath and marched toward the mask. The closer he got the calmer the mask became. Slowly it became blank of any emotion. It finally came to rest with three horizontal lines to represent eyes and a mouth.

"Is it more important to do what is right, do what is expected of you, or to follow your intuition?"

"It's… more important to… to…" He looked down at his feet. He racked his mind for an answer. They were given to him but, but none of them were right. "None. It's none of the above; it important to do what is needed of you, no matter what it may be."

The face began to twist and turn. It settled on a look of pure serenity. Its blank eyes turned blue. The face morphed again until the two eyes melded together into a single orb. The mask like the others faded out of existence. The blue orb was the only thing left.

Kaji grabbed it as it fell.

He examined it closely. It was a deep blue that didn't compare to anything he had ever seen. It was flawless except for a small imperfection in the center. It was the shape of something. Kaji knew he had seen the shape before, but couldn't remember where.

"_You have one last test,"_ informed the voice.

A new set of stairs formed on the other side of the platform. Again they led to a deeper into the darkness. He ran even faster his heart pounded with excitement. The last landing was red. There was no picture in the center of this one.

He started forward.

The voice softly told him, _"You have chosen how to defend and what to defend…,"_ it boomed, _"now you must prove that you can defend what is valued."_

Three strange creatures circled him. One was a short hunched pitch black monster with yellow eyes, round head, and antennas. Another was a white demon with a zipper mouth and long whip like limbs. The last was a dark blue fiend with pointed limbs and red slit eyes.

The blue fiend launched at him. Kaji threw his arms in front of him. His hammer appeared in a flash of light. The fiend was deflected. The three took a step back. The black monster sank into the ground and crawled across the floor until it was right behind him. It slashed him. Kaji recoiled from the pain. Quickly recovered and smashed his hammer against the side of its head. The white demon slunk over and whipped at him with his long arms. Kaji jumped over the monster dodging the demon's attack. Another smash to the head and the monster exploded into black mist. Kaji then brought his hammer up, catching the demon under its chin, sending it flying. It landed in a crumpled pile. He turned around just in time to block an attack from the fiend. It dodged Kaji's counter attack. He continued to push it back. The white demon came from behind and struck him across the back. He spun around and bashed swept its feet out from under it. As it fell he smashed it in the chest. It got back to its feet and swiped at Kaji. He ducked and slid around behind it. He knocked the demon into the fiend and unleashed a relentless series of blows. Eventually they were defeated.

"Okay, I've defeated them!" he panted.

The three appeared again. Again Kaji defeated them, and again they came back. They kept returning until Kaji was in the center of the floor.

Their attack stopped abruptly. Kaji still held his weapon at the ready. Slowly they retreated and faded away. The ground shuddered. He fell to a knee. A small black spot formed on the red glass. It spread wider and wider, tainting the glass. It grew and took shape. It was a silhouette of a man. He felt a tug from his pocket. The doll the girl gave him fought its way out, and floated high into air. It stretched out till it was twenty feet tall. Next the ring flew up. It grew until it could slide over its handless arm. The black and white metal covered the doll in swirling designs. The metal extended over the end of the arms, growing into long serrated claws. Its rounded feet turned long and jester-like. The dolls cute stitched mouth ripped open, the metal infected the cotton and turned it into rows of jagged teeth. The top of its face was covered with a helmet, white on one side and black on the other. Finally the blue orb flew up and joined the forming monster. It crashed into the helmet forming a slit for it to rest.

Once finished the monster got down on all fours and was eye level with Kaji. It grabbed him and slung him into the air. Kaji flailed through the air like a ragdoll. The white and black creature jumped up after it. It grabbed him again as they both fell. Kaji fought his arms free and dug the spike into creature's hand, it released immediately. He then drove the spike into the things helmet, and pulled himself over it. It crashed into the floor. Kaji was going to smash it as he came down, but it melded through the floor. He got to his feet pivoting around looking for it.

It jumped out on the far end of the stage. It whipped an arm above and around its head. Its hand flew at Kaji, connected by a chain to its arm, the serrated fingers slashing into him. It did the same the same thing with its other hand. Kaji blocked and beat it into the ground. The knife fingers dug into the floor, trapping it. Kaji ran up the chain, slid under its other hand as it swatted at him. He reached its hood and beat it until it slung him back across the floor. It finally freed its other hand and it snapped back to its arm.

It turned its palms up and an orb of light formed in one and one of darkness in the other. The light shot out as a beam. It carved a path in the glass and it exploded. Kaji had just jumped out of the way. The darkness shot out like a bullet, knocking Kaji off his feet. When he fell he rolled out of the way for another beam of light. It continued its new tactic until light and darkness were used up. The demon turned its hands up again. While gathering up power Kaji charged it and slid between its legs. As he slid he hooked one of its ankles along the length of the spike, causing it to fall. Kaji ran around, as it tried to stand and delivered a few blows.

Kaji ran back as it got up. He turned back around and faced the monster. It dug its claws into the ground and roared. Its blue eye began to glow fiercely. A narrow beam shot out and struck Kaji. The beam didn't hurt it dragged him toward the creature. He sunk the spike into the ground, but he continued forward. He was being drawn into the creatures gapping mouth. He fought and struggled, but was unable to break free of the pull. At the last second, before he was in the jaws of the beast, he forced his hammer into its mouth and lodged it open. The beam broke. He ripped the hammer out of its mouth. He scaled up the helmet and continuously bashed it till it and eye were destroyed.

As the helmet fell away he was engulfed by light. He shielded his eyes. When he opened them again he was in darkness. His hammer was gone.

"_Well done. You are strong. You will more than strength though to fulfill your destiny. You will find them in your journey. Be warned that there will be those who try to lead you away from what you need to do. There are many choices ahead, and how you choose will affect us all."_

His body became stiff and heavy again. He could feel himself being encased in the metal again. The air was gone and he struggled for a breath. Eventually he was able to move. He fell to his knees. Before he could try to claw it off his face, it cleared away. He looked down at his arm, and saw that the metal was being absorbed into his skin.

"Enjoy yourself?" the smith chuckled.

"What was that?" he freaked.

"You've got to be more specific. There's a lot of stuff in there, if memory serves right."

"Where was I?"

"I can't answer that, for I'm really sure where that place is.

"I've got a question for you, what did you get?"

"What?"

"The three judges, what did they give ya?"

"Um… a doll," he began.

"No, show me."

Remembering the fight with the monster he said, "I sort of broke them."

"No you didn't. Check your pockets."

He stuffed a hand in each pocket. He felt something soft, the doll. He pulled it out in disbelief. He stared at the mini-him.

"Hand it over and the rest," he demanded with an outstretch hand.

He handed the doll to him. He dug back in his pocket and found the ring and orb. He put them both in his massive paw.

"What are they for?"

"They'll tell me more about you than I could ever beat out of you."

"Okay let see. The girl's doll, that's expected," he said broad. He picked up the ring and studied it closer. "The man's black and white ring. I guess that makes sense." He paused. His fingers trembled as he reached for the orb. "Now, this is…," he shook his head. "This wasn't expected."

"Is that good or bad?" he asked timidly.

"It doesn't matter to you right now. You could still be my apprentice. That's all that matters."

Kaji let out a sigh of relief.

"You've done enough for today, head on up."

The smith set him down on the ground. He went back to work, grabbing another bar of metal.

As Kaji left he watched the confused on the smith's face. What was so special about the blue orb? He pushed the metal door, without even realizing how light it felt to him. The door swung close behind him. He started the long trek back up the cavern. He threw back one last look and saw the crest on the door was the same as the mark on one of the landings, a large heart shaped moon.

Okay that's it for now. I'll try to post more regularly, and not lose my flash drive. Hope you guys enjoyed. Please review, and remember the almonds, or something like that.


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